Jennifer Burke
Jennifer Anne Burke was a fictional character that was originally in the novel, Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann, and was in the series, Harpers Falls. She was played by Ari Meyers, who is best known for her role of Emma Jane McArdle on the long-running comedy, Kate and Allie, until the character left the series, with the explanation that she returned to her home in New York where she felt where she belonged. Acting is in her blood Jennifer is an actress of some standing. Her talent is evident, and her breeding and heritage shows it. Her mother, Anne Welles Burke, was a cosmetics model who was asked to model after a long time of working as a secretary in a theatrical agency. Her father, Lyon Burke, was a talent agent (whom her mother met while a secretary) who was known for a lot of infidelities during his marriage to her mother. Her stepmother, Neely O'Hara, is a singer-actress who is known for her long-time antics. Through her stepmother, she has two siblings, Bud and Dylan Casablanca, twin sons of Neely, through her marriage to the late dress designer, Ted Casablanca. Jennifer was named after her mother's best friend, actress Jennifer North, and always insists on being called, Jennifer. She does not like being called Jenny, which is part of the reason that she and Neely do not get along. (Neely calls her Jenny out of sheer derision, and does it knowing that it makes Jennifer angry) She does like the name Jen, and allows her friends to use that name. She and her friend, Madeleine Jacobson, spend a lot of time together. Her battles with Neely are legendary and the fights that they have had are rather vicious and nasty. Jennifer never got along with Neely, seeing her as an interloper and as someone who betrayed her mother's friendship to get what she wants. Madeleine understands her anger towards Neely, and at times, Madeleine wanted to flatten the arrogant Neely, but she is not a temperamental person. But yet, she worries about her friend. So, she and Sheila McAllister, her other friend, has planned to take Neely apart. Making a visit in Boston, the troublemaking Neely (played in an appearance by UK actress Celia Bannerman) proceeded to try to make Jennifer look bad, but she failed, when she went up against someone even more formidable. That of Libby Atchison. Libby, who came at the bequest of Sheila and Madeleine, is not impressed with Neely and her puffed up attitude, and has made it clear that she doesn't like her. She would stand up for Jennifer against her wicked stepmother. Although she has won several awards for her acting, Jennifer is more at home in the theater. She is more at home doing Broadway plays, although she is not as much involved in musicals. She also studies her craft, always working hard at her chosen career. She and Neely have clashed over her acting (her stepmother doesn't think that she has any talent, where she {Neely} has more talent in her little finger) and her stepmother's massive ego. Despite Neely's many turns in a sanitarium, that doesn't stop her arrogance. Neely once drove Jennifer to a sanitarium when she was in her teens, but it took her stepmother's arch enemy, Helen Lawson, a few years before she died, to stop that one. Jennifer looked up to Helen as a mentor, which she knew would infuriate Neely, but she did not care. In fact, Jennifer misses Helen to this day and considers her more of a mother to her than Neely could ever be. One of her most priceless treasures is a small version of a mobile that Helen used in her famous musical, "Hit the Sky". Despite her stepmother's constant meddling and her failed attempt to institutionalize her, Jennifer grew up just fine and has eclipsed Neely in acting, and due to her compassionate and giving nature, terms she gained from her late mother, Anne, Jennifer proves herself better than the egotistic Neely. Due to her acting career, Jennifer is not often in Boston. She is often in New York working on Broadway, but she maintained a home in the Back Bay area, and also gives her time and talents to working in the Boston theatrical scene. Something her egocentric and selfish stepmother would never even consider doing. Recently, Jennifer revealed to her friend, Libby, that she has received a more substantial job working as an acting teacher back in New York City, where she feels more at home and more comfortable. She left Boston, and leased her home in the Back Bay to one of her acting students. Now, with her in New York, Madeleine visits Jennifer from time to time. Category:Characters Category:Characters from other stories Category:Harper family allies